Media Coverage of Election

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In our english class we have been studying the role of bias in writing.  Our teacher had us explore this idea by looking at how various media outlets are covering the US Presidential election.  This project had us using the ATL skill Compare, contrast and draw connections among (multi)media resources.  We looked at how several different news sites wrote about one of the debates that had happened.  We focused on comparing and contrasting the tone of the coverage to identify what bias the various sites might have.

The compare and contrast activity really illustrated how bias can impact writing.  I was surprised how two totally different views could exist when covering the exact same event.  These weren't opinion pieces we were reading, either.  These articles were presented as factual accounts of how the debates had gone. This showed me how important the skill of comparing and contrasting really is.  I need make sure I read different information and resources to form my own thoughts on issues.